--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So the challenge for any quantum theory…" description: "\"“So the challenge for any quantum theory of gravity is to give us a deeper understanding of Bekenstein's entropy and Hawking's temperature.”\" — Lee Smolin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b2/lee-smolin-4171_learning_so-the-challenge-for-any-quantum-theory_368343.png" --- # So the challenge for any quantum theory of gravity is to… ![“So the challenge for any quantum theory of gravity is to give us a deeper understanding of Bekenstein's entropy and Hawking's temperature.” quote by Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b2/lee-smolin-4171_learning_so-the-challenge-for-any-quantum-theory_368343.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b2/lee-smolin-4171_learning_so-the-challenge-for-any-quantum-theory_368343.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b2/lee-smolin-4171_learning_so-the-challenge-for-any-quantum-theory_368343.png) > ““So the challenge for any quantum theory of gravity is to give us a deeper understanding of Bekenstein's entropy and Hawking's temperature.”” [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker emphasizes that a successful quantum gravity theory must explain the origins of black‑hole entropy and temperature, deepening our grasp of fundamental physics. **In simple terms:** Quantum gravity must explain black‑hole entropy and temperature. Key Takeaway Seek theories that link gravity with quantum thermodynamics. Themes physics quantum gravity entropy temperature fundamental theory Mood curious analytical speculative Type theoretical scientific When to use this quote - research labs - theoretical seminars - academic papers Key Concepts Thermodynamics of spacetime information theory Questions to Reflect On - What does black‑hole entropy reveal about spacetime? - Can thermodynamics be derived from quantum gravity? A Different Perspective Entropy may be emergent, not fundamental. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Quantum theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quantum-theory/) ## Related quotes > [“During the life of a black hole, it will pull in huge amounts of matter, carrying huge amounts of intrinsic information. At the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/during-the-life-of-a-black-hole-it-will-pull-in-huge-amounts-of/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“We don't really know whether there are black holes that emit observable amounts of Hawking radiation. Nevertheless, there is no way to overestimate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/we-don-t-really-know-whether-there-are-black-holes-that-emit/) [Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/) > [“Quantum theory can be described as a new kind of language to be used in a dialogue between us and the systems we study…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/quantum-theory-can-be-described-as-a-new-kind-of-language-to-be-used/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“One can take the colour-electric field as the fundamental entity, and then try to understand the picture of a string stretched between the quarks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/one-can-take-the-colour-electric-field-as-the-fundamental-entity-and/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [The revolution which began with the creation of quantum theory and relativity theory can only be finished with their unification into a single theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-revolution-which-began-with-the-creation-of-quantum-theory-and/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“The key question for a quantum theory of gravity is then the following: Can we extend to quantum theory the principle that space has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-key-question-for-a-quantum-theory-of-gravity-is-then-the/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Quantum theory, in turn, has its own trouble with infinities. They appear whenever you attempt to use quantum mechanics to describe fields, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/quantum-theory-in-turn-has-its-own-trouble-with-infinities-they/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“So, in the end, the most improbable and hence the most puzzling aspect of space is its very existence. The simple fact that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/so-in-the-end-the-most-improbable-and-hence-the-most-puzzling-aspect/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Problem 1: Combine general relativity and quantum theory into a single theory that can claim to be the complete theory of nature. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/problem-1-combine-general-relativity-and-quantum-theory-into-a-single/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“In string theory, the situation is very different. The law of motion dictates the laws of the forces. This is because all forces in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/in-string-theory-the-situation-is-very-different-the-law-of-motion/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Besides the argument based on the unity of nature, there are problems specific to each theory that call for unification with the other. Each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/besides-the-argument-based-on-the-unity-of-nature-there-are-problems/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“The Five Great Problems in Theoretical Physics: Problem 1: Combine general relativity and quantum theory into a single theory that can claim to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-five-great-problems-in-theoretical-physics-problem-1-combine/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [There certainly is a tension between the relativity of simultaneity and non-locality in quantum theory, but it's not strong enough to add up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/there-certainly-is-a-tension-between-the-relativity-of-simultaneity/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“So we may now pose a question which could be answered only if we have a quantum theory of gravity. What is the nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/so-we-may-now-pose-a-question-which-could-be-answered-only-if-we-have/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [A successful unification of quantum theory and relativity would necessarily be a theory of the universe as a whole. It would tell us, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/a-successful-unification-of-quantum-theory-and-relativity-would/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) ## More by Lee Smolin > [“This unification of forces and motion has a simple consequence. In a particle theory, you can freely add all kinds of forces, so there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/this-unification-of-forces-and-motion-has-a-simple-consequence-in-a/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“One field Faraday studied was the electric field. This is not a number but a vector, which we may visualize as an arrow and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/one-field-faraday-studied-was-the-electric-field-this-is-not-a-number/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“It is interesting to note that the quantum-mechanical revolution was made by a virtually orphaned generation of scientists. Many members of the generation above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/it-is-interesting-to-note-that-the-quantum-mechanical-revolution-was/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“In fact, the particle-antiparticle annihilation and the closing of the string is necessary, if the theory is to be consistent with relativity, meaning the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/in-fact-the-particle-antiparticle-annihilation-and-the-closing-of-the/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [Every string theory that's been written down says the speed of light is universal. But other ideas about quantum gravity predict the speed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/every-string-theory-that-s-been-written-down-says-the-speed-of-light/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Unfortunately, no one has ever successfully postulated a super-symmetry holding between two known particles. Instead, in all the supersymmetric theories the numbers of particles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/unfortunately-no-one-has-ever-successfully-postulated-a-super/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [Those who do good science do so because they choose problems that are suited to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/those-who-do-good-science-do-so-because-they-choose-problems-that-are/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Here's a simplified version of what the Stanford group did. They started with a much-studied kind of string theory-a flat four-dimensional spacetime with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/here-s-a-simplified-version-of-what-the-stanford-group-did-they/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“The current crisis in particle physics springs from the fact that the theories have gone beyond the standard model in the last thirty years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-current-crisis-in-particle-physics-springs-from-the-fact-that-the/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“By the time I began my study of physics in the early 1970s, the idea of unifying gravity with the other forces was as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/by-the-time-i-began-my-study-of-physics-in-the-early-1970s-the-idea/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“These two discoveries, of relativity and of the quantum, each required us to break definitively with Newtonian physics. However, in spite of great progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/these-two-discoveries-of-relativity-and-of-the-quantum-each-required/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Problem 1: Combine general relativity and quantum theory into a single theory that can claim to be the complete theory of nature. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/problem-1-combine-general-relativity-and-quantum-theory-into-a-single/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“The loop approach to quantum gravity is now a thriving field of research. Many of the older ideas, such as supergravity and the study…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-loop-approach-to-quantum-gravity-is-now-a-thriving-field-of/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“During the life of a black hole, it will pull in huge amounts of matter, carrying huge amounts of intrinsic information. At the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/during-the-life-of-a-black-hole-it-will-pull-in-huge-amounts-of/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Many of the important principles in twentieth century physics are expressed as limitations on what we can know. Einstein's principle of relativity (which was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/many-of-the-important-principles-in-twentieth-century-physics-are/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) [Explore all 114 Lee Smolin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) ## More Learning quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [Just understand that the good that you want is already here. All you have to do is get in harmony with it. And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/just-understand-that-the-good-that-you-want-is-already-here-all-you/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. And they always had to put themselves at the center of everything. That was their greatest conceit. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/men-mistook-measurement-for-understanding-and-they-always-had-to-put/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Learning from the best, you will eventually become the best if you have the talent already, if you have that potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-orton/learning-from-the-best-you-will-eventually-become-the-best-if-you/) [Randy Orton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-orton/) > [Everything I do is more memorable and I understand music more than ever now. It's not a burden to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seungri/everything-i-do-is-more-memorable-and-i-understand-music-more-than/) [Seungri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seungri/) > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) H.D. (Hilda Doolittle > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [once in awhile you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look it right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/once-in-awhile-you-get-shown-the-light-in-the-strangest-of-places-if/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/) [Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/) > [Would she understand that time had stopped while she was gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/would-she-understand-that-time-had-stopped-while-she-was-gone/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [“Damen's understanding of Laurent rearranged itself, in order that he might despise him more accurately.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-u-pacat/damen-s-understanding-of-laurent-rearranged-itself-in-order-that-he/) [S.U. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-u-pacat/) [Browse all 22,300 Learning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“So the challenge for any quantum theory of gravity is to give us a deeper understanding of Bekenstein's entropy and Hawking's temperature.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lee Smolin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/so-the-challenge-for-any-quantum-theory-of-gravity-is-to-give-us-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Learning" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/so-the-challenge-for-any-quantum-theory-of-gravity-is-to-give-us-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b2/lee-smolin-4171_learning_so-the-challenge-for-any-quantum-theory_368343.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b2/lee-smolin-4171_learning_so-the-challenge-for-any-quantum-theory_368343.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b2/lee-smolin-4171_learning_so-the-challenge-for-any-quantum-theory_368343.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So the challenge for any quantum theory of gravity is to give us a deeper understanding of Bekenstein's…” — Lee Smolin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lee Smolin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“So the challenge for any quantum...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/so-the-challenge-for-any-quantum-theory-of-gravity-is-to-give-us-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/so-the-challenge-for-any-quantum-theory-of-gravity-is-to-give-us-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```